By Leah Douglas

Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Epa has introduced examinations into the supply chains of at least two renewable fuel producers amidst industry concerns that some may be utilizing deceptive feedstocks for biodiesel to secure financially rewarding government subsidies.

EPA representative Jeffrey Landis informed Reuters that the firm has actually released audits over the previous year, but declined to recognize the business targeted because the examinations are ongoing.

The production of biodiesel from sustainable components, like utilized cooking oil, can earn refiners a variety of state and federal ecological and climate subsidies, including tradable credits under a program administered by the EPA called the Renewable Fuel Standard. But worries have actually been mounting that some materials labeled as utilized cooking oil are really less expensive and less sustainable virgin palm oil, an item that is associated with logging and other ecological damage.

The issue entered focus following a surge in used cooking oil exports from Asia in the last few years that experts have stated includes unrealistically high volumes relative to the quantity of cooking oil utilized and recuperated in the area. The European Union is likewise examining feedstocks over the scams concerns.

The EPA audits began after the agency upgraded domestic supply-chain accounting requirements in July 2023 for sustainable fuel manufacturers seeking to earn credits under the RFS, he said.

"EPA has conducted audits of eco-friendly fuel manufacturers considering that July 2023 that includes, to name a few things, an assessment of the locations that utilized cooking oil used in renewable fuel production was gathered," he said. "These investigations, nevertheless, are continuous and we are unable to talk about continuous enforcement investigations."

U.S. senators from farm states have actually called for more oversight of biofuel feedstocks, stating federal companies ought to be as rigorous in verifying imports as they are auditing domestic supply chains.

"The Biden administration has actually produced vigorous requirements to confirm, not simply trust, American manufacturers, and it is necessary that the exact same examination is applied to imported feedstocks," six U.S. senators, led by Roger Marshall and Sherrod Brown, wrote in a June 20 letter to federal agencies.

Another letter from 15 senators to the Treasury Department on July 30 urged the administration to exclude imported feedstocks like UCO from an additional clean fuel tax credit program passed in the Inflation Reduction Act. (Reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Matthew Lewis)